PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Aug 31

Aug 31(Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

The Times

* An energy price cap for two million of the most vulnerable households will be fast-tracked into place by January, under Ofgem plans to be unveiled within weeks. bit.ly/2vu418p

* The tax authorities are chasing large businesses for 24.8 billion pounds ($32.03 billion) of potential underpayments, 3 billion pounds more than last year, as they step up efforts to close loopholes and stamp out avoidance. Investigations by the large business directorate at HM Revenue & Customs (HRMC) have identified the sum as tax that might be recovered from previous years. bit.ly/2vtOW6U

The Guardian

- The alleged mastermind behind a series of cyber-attacks on Lloyds and Barclays banks that disrupted up to 20 million accounts has been extradited from Germany to face charges in the UK. The British man, Daniel Kaye, 29, is accused of attempting to blackmail the banks after using an infected network of computers known as the Mirai#14 botnet. bit.ly/2eGz7za

- Mike Ashley, the billionaire owner of Newcastle United, is moving from the pub to the golf course in his latest high court dispute with a former business partner . bit.ly/2eGwAFh

The Telegraph

- Britain's slowdown could have run its course as business lending is rising, mortgage lending growing at a steady pace and the boom in consumer credit, appears to be moderating, according to figures from Bank of England. bit.ly/2eGA9v2

- Dunelm delivered a shock to shareholders after abruptly parting ways with chief executive John Browett following what is understood to be a clash of leadership styles. bit.ly/2eGz7iK

Sky News

- Royal Mail is to be relegated from the FTSE 100 nearly four years after its controversial privatisation. Shares in the delivery business have fallen more than 15 percent so far this year as it faces a cocktail of headaches including declining letter volumes and rumblings of industrial action. bit.ly/2eGxt0G

- The Co-op Group has moved into pole position to swoop on Nisa Retail, trumping its rival J Sainsbury in an accelerating battle to consolidate Britain's convenience store market. The board of Nisa Retail has granted a period of exclusivity to the Co-op to negotiate a takeover of the member-owned business. bit.ly/2eGyB4n

The Independent

- The final casualty of the latest strike by some British Airways cabin crew is flight BA122 from Doha. The outbound flight was cancelled on Wednesday and the return leg is consequently axed. ind.pn/2eGxT71

- Two thirds of firms say they intend to employ permanent new staff to cope with new EU rules designed to protect peoples' private information after a number of high-profile data breaches, a survey by the UK Information Commissioner's Office revealed. ind.pn/2eGy3f0 ($1 = 0.7743 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler)